PDF requirements for e-filing in the Wisconsin circuit courts (eFiling)

What the court requires

The limit is 50 MB per document. Wisconsin's circuit court eFiling is run by the Wisconsin court system itself.

“Documents larger than 50 MB must be split into smaller files before uploading them to the eFiling Website.”

Common reasons filings are rejected

• A document is over 50 MB.
• Pages are not letter size.
• The PDF is password-protected or has security restrictions.
• The PDF is password-protected or has security restrictions, so the court's system can't open it.

Questions about the Wisconsin circuit courts's PDF rules

What is the maximum PDF file size for the Wisconsin circuit courts?

50 MB per PDF.

What should I do if my PDF is too large for the Wisconsin circuit courts?

Split it into consecutive parts that are each under 50 MB, never cutting a page in half, and file the first part as the main document and the rest as attachments named in order (for example "Exhibit A, Part 2 of 3"). For scanned documents, re-scanning in black and white at 300 dpi often shrinks the file enough to avoid splitting. Docket Prime can split the file for you in your browser.

Does the Wisconsin circuit courts require text-searchable PDFs?

It is recommended. Documents saved directly from a word processor are searchable and much smaller than scans; for paper documents, OCR adds searchable text.

What page size does the Wisconsin circuit courts accept?

Letter size (8.5 × 11 inches) is expected. Legal-size or A4 pages may print badly or be refused, so resize them to letter.